Weekend Update 11/24/13

[up1950s]

[spookshow]

Not a great deal of modeling going on over here this week, but I have been adding lots and lots of crass Google advertising to my website 

Warning - please DO NOT click on any of said ads unless you find yourself rapturously enamored with the products pictured therein (even if said clicks might send a few pennies my way and help defray the expenses associated with the running of my website, the purchase of review models, etc).

No, seriously, I mean it! Don't make me come after you! 

Cheers,
-Mark

P.S. Oh yeah, and here's the URL where you shouldn't be clicking on stuff (that is, if you don't want to) - http://www.spookshow.net/

P.P.S. No, seriously! 

[mark dance]

I finally got back to a bit of modeling after two weeks away from the hobby (save Trains 2013).

I weathered up some recently purchased cars.  I haven't weathered in a while so I need to practice on the "subtlety"...I find it much harder to weather a little than a lot.





Then back to the two big steel bridges: Farr Creek and McCormack Creek.  I applied lots and lots of rivet decals and transferred the track from the wooden temporary McCormack Creek roadbed that has been in place for more than 7 years...









and then painted them up.  Here they are set in place but the track is powered.







Next week it is on to their piers and footings.

Oh, and the last big bridge, the pin connected Farr creek is just around the corner...the design for the laser pieces is nearly done.  This will be the most challenging bridge by far and I am really looking forward to it!



Have a great weekend

md

[M.C. Fujiwara]

If anyone's in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend (11/23-24), our Silicon Valley Free-moN anarcho-collective will be rolling at the Great Train Expo at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA.
http://www.greattrainexpo.com/shows/2013Pleasanton.html

In addition to the omnipresent vendors, there will be layouts from scales G through Z (including the BAZboys amazing work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1QXZ9oJEeI )

Our Free-moN layout might not be as large as our last one:



But since now one of our modules made the cover of Model Railroad Hobbyist  http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2013-11-nov/shoofly-scene , I guess quality counts 

Oh, and we're right next to the beer:



Or will be, when we finally set up tomorrow minutes before the show starts 

So hope to see you there!

[cnw mike]

Warning - please DO NOT click on any of said ads unless you find yourself rapturously enamored with the products pictured therein (even if said clicks might send a few pennies my way and help defray the expenses associated with the running of my website, the purchase of review models, etc).

Ok, I'll try not to. But that asian babe third from the right is awfully tempting...

[rsn48]

They serve beer at the show?  How does that work out, and more importantly, who gets the proceeds?

[C855B]

My report is more in the form of an amusing story.

I've mentioned that I am involved in our local history museum, more or less inducted as the "railroad curator" (translated: the guy who keeps the Lionel layout running). In the nearly two years I've been messing with the trains, I participated in a few serious discussions about the museum's daily management. Well, long story short, I'm now the president of the museum. But that's the lead-in to the train-related story.

A few days ago the Executive Director, lead curator and I were having a lively discussion about their respective to-do lists. On the curator's list was "restoring" (actually, mostly repainting) the ex-BN caboose we have in our parking lot (http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3014269), as the paint is getting pretty streaked and faded. I mentioned how difficult it was to get a reliable match for BN green. "Yeah. We talked to BNSF a couple of years ago and they won't help us. Anyway, just any green will be fine, nobody would know the difference," was her reply.



I protested, "Eleanor, rail nuts really pay attention to stuff like that. I would not be able to live it down if any of my train friends knew that I let that caboose be painted the wrong color!" "I guess," she replied, "but what about the other color? It's sort of a cream, I think." "Cream? I don't know of any cream color, " was my response, "What do you mean? The dirty white lettering?" "Oh, I dunno," she said. So I duck out to the parking lot, take a glance, do a , stick my head back in the door, "Hey, Eleanor! That's supposed to be yellow! A bright yellow!" Yes, the ends are faded that badly.

So to make the point I looked for and found an Atlas extended-vision caboose in BN this week. To my surprise it's a seriously close model of ours. But alas, the curator is on vacation and I get to wait until Wednesday to finish the discussion.

[LIRR]

The weathering on the green boxcar is excellent

[bnsfdash8]

I've been working on this car for my freelance RR, it is based off a car that UP had.

[MRLX1020]

Congratulations on your new found position, Mike!  Is that "Waycar" originally a CB&Q or other predecessor road, or was it built for the BN?  Silver CB&Q would be a nice nod to Centralia's past, now that CN is showing everyone up on the other side of town!

I remember when that Waycar was placed at the museum - October of 2000.  The ruts across the field were still fresh.  It was a joint effort of BNSF and CNIC to get it moved off the NB IC main.  It was getting late in the day, Amtrak was due, and it was decided that the Pettibone crane from the car shop (with couplers) could adequately perform the honors, so off they went, across the field.

It had to have been truly a "Caboose Hop".

MRLX1020

My report is more in the form of an amusing story.

I've mentioned that I am involved in our local history museum, more or less inducted as the "railroad curator" (translated: the guy who keeps the Lionel layout running). In the nearly two years I've been messing with the trains, I participated in a few serious discussions about the museum's daily management. Well, long story short, I'm now the president of the museum. But that's the lead-in to the train-related story.

A few days ago the Executive Director, lead curator and I were having a lively discussion about their respective to-do lists. On the curator's list was "restoring" (actually, mostly repainting) the ex-BN caboose we have in our parking lot (http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3014269), as the paint is getting pretty streaked and faded. I mentioned how difficult it was to get a reliable match for BN green. "Yeah. We talked to BNSF a couple of years ago and they won't help us. Anyway, just any green will be fine, nobody would know the difference," was her reply.



I protested, "Eleanor, rail nuts really pay attention to stuff like that. I would not be able to live it down if any of my train friends knew that I let that caboose be painted the wrong color!" "I guess," she replied, "but what about the other color? It's sort of a cream, I think." "Cream? I don't know of any cream color, " was my response, "What do you mean? The dirty white lettering?" "Oh, I dunno," she said. So I duck out to the parking lot, take a glance, do a , stick my head back in the door, "Hey, Eleanor! That's supposed to be yellow! A bright yellow!" Yes, the ends are faded that badly.

So to make the point I looked for and found an Atlas extended-vision caboose in BN this week. To my surprise it's a seriously close model of ours. But alas, the curator is on vacation and I get to wait until Wednesday to finish the discussion.

[ednadolski]

I now have a train that is fully converted (all engines and all cars) to the body-mounted, Z-scale Bowser/Lee English couplers:

More details at this link.


Thanks for looking!


Ed

[Scottl]

I'm not sure I can count that high!  Awesome train and such a great scene.

[eja]

Not modeling, but I stumbled across a YouTube video on the Right and Wrong Way to Handle Freight.  Lots of 1950's Santa Fe footage in the yards once you get past a corny introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHRGkGFwo7k

Enjoy


eja

edit: correct typos

[up1950s]

Not modeling, but I stumbled across a YouTube video on the Right and Wrong Way to Handle Freight.  Lots of 1950's Santa Fe footage in the yards once guy get get past a corny introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHRGkGFwo7k

Enjoy


eja

Cool vid , thanks for sharing .

[pjm20]

My dad and I went to see the Remembrance Day Parade in Gettysburg, and on the way I grabbed these shots from inside the car:

Dauphin:


Rockville Bridge from I83 bridge over the Susquehanna:


Also snagged some old magazines from Tommy Gilbert's in Gettysburg.